https://myles-innovation.com/tags/dach-manufacturing/Recent content in DACH Manufacturing on MYLES — Strategy & Innovation ConsultingHugoenSat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://myles-innovation.com/blog/chinese-competition-innovation-response/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://myles-innovation.com/blog/chinese-competition-innovation-response/<h2 id="the-wrong-response-to-a-real-problem">The Wrong Response to a Real Problem</h2> <p>In the last three years, I have sat in strategy sessions at half a dozen DACH industrial manufacturers where the agenda item was labeled something like &ldquo;Chinese competition response strategy.&rdquo; The conclusions reached in those meetings have been remarkably consistent, and remarkably misguided.</p> <p>The typical response: cut costs, defend price, emphasize quality and reliability as differentiators, and hope that the regulatory environment in Europe will create enough friction to slow Chinese market penetration. Some companies add a slide about &ldquo;innovation&rdquo; to the deck — but when you look at what they mean by innovation, it is usually a feature roadmap that had already been planned before the competitive pressure appeared.</p>https://myles-innovation.com/blog/mechanical-engineer-innovators-dilemma/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://myles-innovation.com/blog/mechanical-engineer-innovators-dilemma/<h2 id="the-best-engineers-build-the-wrong-products">The Best Engineers Build the Wrong Products</h2> <p>There is a particular kind of strategic failure that is almost exclusive to engineering-led companies, and it is both the most understandable and the most damaging. The best mechanical engineers in a company — the ones who genuinely understand their product domain — are the most resistant to the innovations that will eventually displace their products. This is not a paradox. It is the logical consequence of deep expertise applied to the wrong problem.</p>